Amnesty International Condemns Torture Of Boko Haram Suspects In Cameroon

Amnesty International has revealed that over hundreds of Boko Haram suspects are undergoing severe torture in Cameroon by security forces.

The human rights group condemned the act describing it as ‘horrific’.

The report by the human rights group shows dozens of testimonies, corroborated with satellite imagery, photographic and video evidence, the report ‘Cameroon’s secret torture chambers: human rights violations and war crimes in the fight against Boko Haram’ documents 101 cases of incommunicado detention and torture between 2013 and 2017, at over 20 different sites.

We have repeatedly and unequivocally condemned the atrocities and war crimes committed by Boko Haram in Cameroon. But, nothing could justify the callous and widespread practice of torture committed by the security forces against ordinary Cameroonians, who are often arrested without any evidence and forced to endure unimaginable pain,” said Alioune Tine, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

These horrific violations amount to war crimes. Given the weight of the evidence we have uncovered, the authorities must initiate independent investigations into these practices of incommunicado detention and torture, including potential individual and command responsibility.

In a statement by Isa Sanusi, head of media of Amnesty International’s Nigeria office, the organisation said it had written to the Cameroonian authorities in April 2017 to share the report’s findings, but no response was provided and all subsequent requests for meetings were refused.

Amnesty International estimates that Boko Haram has killed over 1,500 civilians in Cameroon since 2014, and abducted many others.

The group has killed more than ten times that number in neighbouring Nigeria where its insurgency began in 2009, according to official figures.